IndyCar results: Marcus Ericsson wins with pass of Pato O'Ward with three laps to go in St. Petersburg
Marcus Ericsson claimed the NTT series 2023 season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, passing Pato O'Ward with three laps to go and holding on for the win. For much of the afternoon, it appeared Romain Grosjean or 2022 St. Petersburg winner Scott McLaughlin would win, but the two crashed into each other battling for the lead with 27 laps remaining.
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg results
Marcus Ericsson (8), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Pato O’Ward (5), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Scott Dixon (9), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Alexander Rossi (7), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Callum Ilott (77), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Graham Rahal (15), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Will Power (12), Team Penske Chevrolet
Alex Palou (10), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Christian Lundgaard (45), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
David Malukas (18), Dale Coyne Racing/HMD Motorsports Honda
Marcus Armstrong (11), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Agustin Canopino (78), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Scott McLaughlin (3), Team Penske Chevrolet
Conor Daly (20), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Kyle Kirkwood (27), Andretti Autosport Honda
Sting Ray Robb (51), Dale Coyne Racing/Rick Ware Racing Honda
Josef Newgarden (2), Team Penske Chevrolet
Romain Grosjean (28), Andretti Autosport Honda
Felix Rosenqvist (6), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Colton Herta (26), Andretti Autosport Honda
Rinus Veekay (21), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Jack Harvey (30), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Helio Castroneves (06), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Santino Ferrucci (14), A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Devlin DeFrancesco (29), Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda
Simon Pagenaud (60), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Benjamin Pederson (55), A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet
First-lap crash takes out five cars
The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg only got through a few corners before a yellow and eventually red flag flew. As the field snaked its way through turn three double-file, contact between Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist caused a chain-reaction wreck behind as Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud, Santino Ferrucci, Sting Ray Robb, Devlin DeFrancesco and Benjamin Pederson were all collected.
The #FirestoneGP is red flagged after this lap 1 incident.#INDYCAR // @GPSTPETE pic.twitter.com/7s50XtKiTi
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 5, 2023
DeFrancesco took the hardest knock as his car was launched into the air after Pederson t-boned him. Amazingly, DeFrancesco was the first driver released from the on-site medical center. Dixon, Rosenqvist and Robb all made it back to the pit lane and were able to continue their race days.
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg starting grid
Romain Grosjean (28), Andretti Autosport Honda
Colton Herta (26), Andretti Autosport Honda
Pato O’Ward (5), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Marcus Ericsson (8), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Kyle Kirkwood (27), Andretti Autosport Honda
Scott McLaughlin (3), Team Penske Chevrolet
Alex Palou (10), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Felix Rosenqvist (6), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Scott Dixon (9), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Will Power (12), Team Penske Chevrolet
Christian Lundgaard (45), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Alexander Rossi (7), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Marcus Armstrong (11), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Josef Newgarden (2), Team Penske Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves (06), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
David Malukas (18), Dale Coyne Racing/HMD Motorsports Honda
Santino Ferrucci (14), A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Devlin DeFrancesco (29), Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda
Jack Harvey (30), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Graham Rahal (15), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Agustin Canopino (78), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Callum Ilott (77), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Sting Ray Robb (51), Dale Coyne Racing/Rick Ware Racing Honda
Rinus Veekay (21), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Simon Pagenaud (60), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Conor Daly (20), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Benjamin Pederson (55), A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg entries list
Josef Newgarden (2), Team Penske Chevrolet
Scott McLaughlin (3), Team Penske Chevrolet
Pato O’Ward (5), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves (06), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Felix Rosenqvist (6), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Alexander Rossi (7), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Marcus Ericsson (8), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Scott Dixon (9), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Alex Palou (10), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Marcus Armstrong (11), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Will Power (12), Team Penske Chevrolet
Santino Ferrucci (14), A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Graham Rahal (15), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
David Malukas (18), Dale Coyne Racing/HMD Motorsports Honda
Conor Daly (20), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Rinus Veekay (21), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Colton Herta (26), Andretti Autosport Honda
Kyle Kirkwood (27), Andretti Autosport Honda
Romain Grosjean (28), Andretti Autosport Honda
Devlin DeFrancesco (29), Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda
Jack Harvey (30), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Christian Lundgaard (45), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Sting Ray Robb (51), Dale Coyne Racing/Rick Ware Racing Honda
Benjamin Pederson (55), A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Simon Pagenaud (60), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Callum Ilott (77), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Agustin Canopino (78), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg broadcast schedule
All times ET
Friday, March 3 3-4:15 p.m.: Practice 1 (Peacock, SiriusXM, IndyCar Radio)
Saturday, March 4 10-11 a.m.: Practice 2 (Peacock, SiriusXM, IndyCar Radio) 2:15-3:30 p.m.: Qualifying (Peacock, SiriusXM, IndyCar Radio)
Sunday, March 5 Noon-2:30 p.m.: Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (NBC, Universo, SiriusXM, IndyCar Live, IndyCar Radio)
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg details
Track: Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida Turns: 14 (nine right, five left) Track length: 1.80 miles Laps: 100 Lap record: 59.346 seconds (Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet, 2022)
Weather for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
It’s Florida and it’s surrounded on three sides by water, so expect wildly varying conditions. As of Friday afternoon, it is forecast to be hot and humid with highs in the low 80s and a better than 50 percent chance of rain Sunday. Even in optimal conditions, St. Petersburg is described by drivers as one of the most physically demanding races on the calendar so having to wrestle the car around in the rain for even a portion of the 100 laps would present an even stiffer challenge.